Classic Menus for Excel 2007

I noticed that Bits du Jour was offering a 70% discount on "Excel 2007 Ribbon to old Excel Classic Menu Toolbar" this Thursday, so I decided to download the trial version and take a look. Maybe it's something that would help people make an easier transition to Excel 2007, and at the discounted price of $8.99, it wouldn't be too big an investment.

The download went smoothly, and the installation took a bit longer than I expected, but nothing too serious. However, immediately after the installation a popup window appeared, asking me to send my name and email address, and subscribe to a newsletter.

I didn't want the newsletter, and tried to close the window, but there's no way to get rid of it. The X button has no effect, and the Send button demands that you fill in the boxes. Finally, I was able to close it with the Task Manager.

So, I haven't even tried the product and I've decided that I don't want anything to do with this company. I'll be uninstalling the trial version in a couple of minutes.

By the way, the trial version installs two of the old style menus (File and Edit), and if you want the rest you'll have to buy the full version. I won't be buying it, but maybe it's something you'd like to try.

It did make me realize one thing though -- it's not the menus I miss, it's the toolbars with their tiny rows of efficient little buttons.

7 Responses

Why invest even $8.99 when you don’t have to? If you’re set on getting a Classic UI, download the starter edition of Patrick Schmid’s Ribbon Customizer. Not only do you get the classic UI for Excel, Word and Powerpoint, but you can also create your own tabs. :)

I thought that I wanted something like this when I first used the betas. I still thought that I wanted it when I was using Office 2007 part of the time, but mostly 2003. Then, I went cold-turkey on Excel 2007 and a few days later I was over it.

I think that is the best solution. Just use 2007 and hunt around for what you need. After a couple of days, the new interface is old hat.

That’s not to say that it is “better.” I’m pretty neutral on that point.